University of Florida lab working on making robotic hands more human-like

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - In this week’s Tech Tuesday, our partners at UF Innovate and SCAD Media highlight Dr. Eric Du and his lab at UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, who are working on robotic hands that can feel and respond like human hands using advanced touch sensors and A.I.

“How can robotics and artificial intelligence propel us into the unknown? Let’s learn more. Eric, tell us a little bit more about who you are and what you do,” said Elora Duong, host of UF Innovate.

“Sure. My name’s Eric Du. I’m a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. So here in this lab, my students and I are working on a system that will allow robot hands to feel just like human hands can. So, we’re developing these advanced tactile systems and AI systems that will allow robots to understand the texture, the softness, the movement and pressure. So, this will enable robots to engage in delicate tasks with human-level dexterity” said Dr. Eric Jing Du, professor at Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

“What would be the importance of having a robotic hand like this?” asked Duong.

“So, we are using hands every day for everything, right? So, from caring for the loved ones to building the world around us. Unfortunately, robots don’t have a history of like this level of skill and sensitivity. So, we believe that’s because the lack of a sense of touch. So, giving the sense of touch to [robots opens] the door to safer manufacturing, construction, personalized healthcare, and even remote operations in space and disaster zones. The reason we can do a lot of things with our human hands is we have such a high-resolution tactile sensation. So, we would love to test how we can bring that sensation to robots so we can bring robots closer to human-level intuition,” said Dr. Du.

“What is the role of artificial intelligence with robotic hand?” asked Duong.

“So, imagine artificial intelligence is the brain for the robot hand. So, because we significantly increase the resolution of our tactile sensation, that means we have to deal with [a] huge amount of data every second. And also, the robot must be able to connect all the pieces together. So just as [to] understand the context of the task, the environment, and also the objects themselves. So, we do need a smarter brain and a bigger brain to do that. And fortunately, with the latest advancement in AI, especially large-language model[s] and what we call visual language model[s] or visual language action models, now the robots can handle complex information just like we can do,“ said Dr. Du.

“If you’re interested in learning more about the applications of robotics in the real world, stay tuned for more updates to the ICIC Lab at the University of Florida,” said Duong.

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